Chaldon Hill, also called Chaldon Down, is one of the highest hills, , on South
Dorset's
Jurassic Coast in
England. The summit is about west of
Durdle Door.
A
bridleway
A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding horses, riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now s ...
crosses the hill just below the summit, whilst the
South West Coast Path
The South West Coast Path is England's longest waymarked long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harbour in Dorset. Because it rises a ...
makes its way down the steep hillside to the beach heading for Durdle Door. At the summit is a
tumulus and
trig point. There are navigation beacons about to the southeast. The hill is flanked by two coastal headlands:
White Nothe and
Bat's Head
Bat's Head is a chalk headland on the Dorset coast in southern England, located between Swyre Head and Durdle Door to the east, and Chaldon Hill and White Nothe
White Nothe (meaning "White Nose") is a chalk headland on the English Channel c ...
.
[ Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger series, no. 194]
History
There is abundant evidence of prehistoric settlement in the area:
tumuli to the south-west and east, a
field system and
earthwork to the north-east and two named barrows to the east: Wardstone and Bush Barrows. There is evidence of another field system on the steep coastal hillside.
References
{{Jurassic Coast
Hills of Dorset